Kingdom Hearts RE:told
by HikariBee
Summary: Feng spends her days on the Destiny Islands like everyone else. But when a strange storm hits the island and a mysterious weapon appears in her hand, she is whisked away on the adventure of a lifetime. Her journey to find her friends and her way home is littered with crushes, betrayal, and magic, and nothing will be the same for her. It's the story you know and love, retold.
1. Destiny Islands

_**Author's Note: Hello, dear readers. Welcome to Kingdom Hearts Retold! For those of you who read the original fic, welcome back. I suggest that you stay on and read this one, because it is way different and much better. I feel that the original fic had many problems, including grammar, pacing, dialogue, and the fact that Feng was a little Sue-ish. I feel that this version is much better and more worthy of reading. The plot will be much different, as will several characters and the connections between them.**_

 _ **I sincerely hope you all enjoy Kingdom Hearts Retold!**_

It was dark and I was falling.

There were bubbles swirling all around me, like I had dived into deep water. I began to panic at the thought that I might be drowning. I must have finally fell from the tree house, just like Shadi always warned me I would.

But I wasn't drowning: I could breathe. I was just falling. Falling into the darkness.

There was something there in the dark. A small light that got larger as I fell. I closed my eyes against the blinding brilliance as I descended toward the light.

I landed on a circular stained glass platform that had a strange design on it. There were seven circles in a ring around the center, and each one contained a girl's silhouette. In the center, there was a large heart-shaped moon, and standing in front of it was a lone figure.

It was me.

 _So much to do, so little time... Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still shut. Now, step forward. Can you do it?_

I took a few slow steps forward. A light shone down from above me like a spotlight as a large stone pedestal rose from the platform in a shower of light and magic. As I stared at it, a sword appeared on it. I turned to see a second pedestal rise, and upon this one appeared a different sword. This one was shaped like a bat's wing.

 _Power sleeps within you. If you give it form, it will give you strength._

I looked between the two swords for a moment. I guessed that I had to choose one.

 _Choose well._

I walked over to the normal sword and chose it without hesitation.

 _Do you choose the power of the light? The light within you is strengthened by the light of another. Do you choose to wield its power?_

"Yes," I said. The sword vanished from my hand in a flash of light. I wondered what the voice meant by "the light of another".

 _Your path is set. Do you accept the power of the light?_

"Yes," I repeated. The pedestals sank into the platform, and the sword reappeared in my hand.

 _You gained the power to fight._

I slashed at the air a few times, getting used to the sword. It was almost as light as the wooden swords we fought with on the islands.

 _All right! You've got it. Use this power to protect yourself and others._

Several shadows appeared on the ground. They moved around, then rose from the ground into impish creatures that seemed to be made of darkness.

 _There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong._

One of the creatures ran toward me, claws bared. I swung the sword at it, and it burst into darkness and disappeared. Another of the creatures sank into the ground and surged toward me. It rose out of the ground and scratched me from behind. I stumbled but managed to keep my balance, and I jabbed at the creature, and it exploded into darkness as well. There was a third creature, and it was moving around me in twitchy little motions. I slashed at it, but it moved to the right. I brought the blade around the opposite direction in a wide arc, and the last creature was gone.

 _Behind you!_

Another creature had risen while I was distracted. I turned and slashed it before it could even do anything. However, rather than vanishing, the creature sank into the ground. The shadow it created began to expand until the whole platform was dark. I closed my eyes.

When I opened them again, I was on a different platform. There were four circles in the center, each one with a female silhouette surrounded by thorns. Along the outer edge were three more circles, each with a female silhouette in it. The outer three were connected by a chain of heart symbols. Across from me, there was a large white door. I walked over to it and pulled experimentally.

"I can't open it...," I said. No response from the magical voice now, I suppose. I turned around and found a treasure chest. I opened it and found a Potion inside. I drank it, and the scratches that the creatures had inflicted began to feel better.

I turned back to the door and decided to try it again. I pulled, and this time the door opened. Blinding light spilled out of it, and I averted my eyes as I walked through the door.

I was back on the first platform. Suddenly, bunch of the creatures rose up from the ground. I summoned the sword again and slashed at a large group of them. All but one vanished, but a few more took their place. I slashed and slashed, but the creatures' numbers never seemed to decrease. I hacked at the creatures anyway, and then a dazzling light erupted from the tip of the sword, destroying all of the creatures.

After the creatures were gone, a light shone down on me, and I felt my wounds heal and my exhaustion fade. The light faded and I looked down, watching as my shadow began to elongate.

 _The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes._

My shadow rose from the ground and became a much longer version of the impish creatures from before. It towered over me, with long shadowy tendrils that resembled hair, and it had a heart-shaped hole in the middle of his chest.

 _But don't be afraid. And don't forget..._

I ran to the edge of the platform, but I almost fell. I was stuck there with the creature; didn't have anywhere to go. I summoned the sword, deciding that I had to fight the thing if I had to. I faced the creature and ran forward, trying to analyze the situation. If I could reach the hands or the head, I could defeat it… maybe.

The thing summoned a ball of energy and punched the floor. A dark void appeared in the ground and several of the smaller creatures rose up from it. I slashed and jabbed at them, dispatching them. I turned back to the big guy. As it punched the ground again, I saw my opportunity and went for it, striking at its wrist. That worked for a moment, then the thing noticed me and struck out with its other hand. I was knocked back, and my sword flew into the abyss. I was doomed.

A dark void appeared below me and began to swallow me up.

 _But don't be afraid._

I fell further into the darkness.

 _You hold the mightiest weapon of all._

I tried to escape, but I was too deep.

 _So don't forget..._

The darkness completely consumed me.

 _You are the one who will open the door._

 **KHR**

I sat up on the sleeping bag in the treehouse where me and my friends hung out on the smaller of the two main islands. I looked around and saw my friends.

Shadi was one of the smartest people I knew. He had golden blond hair and eyes that matched. He was sitting in a chair in the corner, his nose buried in a book. Next to him, staring out of the window, was his twin sister Shui. She had very pale blue hair and blue eyes like mine.

I looked down at myself. My clothes were a little dirty, but otherwise normal. A light purple tee beneath a white vest with light purple trim. My shorts and sneakers matched my vest, and the shorts had their hems cuffed and large pockets.

I got up and looked in the small mirror on the bookshelf. My hair looked like it always did: slightly messy and spiky and pale blonde. I patted it down, then turned to my friends.

"Glad to see you're awake," said Shadi. He was looking at me, but his intelligent glare made it seem like he was looking into me.

"They're going again," said Shui. She turned to her brother. "Are you sure you heard them right?"

"Yes. They're up to something," said Shadi.

"Who?" I asked. "Are you guys talking about Riku and his friends?"

"Of course you'd think it was Riku," said Shui, smirking. She knew about the crush I had on him, ever since we were kids. I tried not to blush.

"Well, is it?" I asked. I looked out the window and saw Riku and his friends, Sora and Kairi, running across the beach. Riku was tied with Sora, and Kairi was way behind. She appeared to be having fun, at least.

"Shadi thinks they're trying to find other worlds," said Shui.

"That's what they were talking about," said Shadi. He had gone back to his book.

"What are we gonna do about it?" I asked.

"We're going to ask them," explained Shadi. "I'm going to ask Kairi, Shui will ask Sora, and you— "

"No!" I said. "I will not talk to Riku. I'll screw up and embarrass myself!"

"I thought you liked him. The best way to get the ball rolling is to just suck it up and talk to him. Just don't forget to figure out what he's up to," said Shadi.

"Fine," I grumbled, making my way toward the door. "But I'll get you back for this."

I found Riku on the small island with the paopu tree on it.

"Um, Riku?" I asked. He turned and looked at me.

"Hey, Feng," he said. We'd known each other since we were kids, because we were neighbors.

"Um, hi," I mumbled. "So, what have you been up to?"

"I don't know if I can tell you," he said.

"Aw, c'mon!" I said. "I'll keep it a secret."

"Okay, how about this? We'll spar. You win, and I'll tell you," he said, hefting his wooden sword. I drew my own sword and nodded.

Riku charged at me, but I moved to the side and slashed at him. He parried, then slashed, hitting me head on. I shook of the daze and retaliated. He blocked the attack, but I kicked him while he was distracted. I backed up and slashed again, which caused him to fall on his back. He immediately sprang back up feet first, his heels connecting with my face. I went down.

I could feel tears welling in my eyes. I tried to hold them back but they still fell.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Don't cry," said Riku, holding out a hand. "I went too far. You're really good, though." I took his hand and he helped me up, handing me a Potion. I used it to heal my wounds.

"Thanks," I told him. I turned to walk away.

"Wait. I'll tell you," Riku said. "We want to go to other worlds. We're building a raft."

"Do you think it'll work?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. We may have to come up with something else," he said. "Do… Do you want to come with us?"

"Really?" I asked, blushing. "I—Can my friends come?"

"I don't know if there will be enough space," Riku admitted.

"Then… I can't leave them, I'm sorry," I said, bowing my head.

"Okay," he said dejectedly. He turned and looked out over the sea. I made my way back to the tree house. Shadi and Shui were waiting there for me.

"They are," said Shadi. "Going to other worlds. Kairi told me."

"Same for Sora," said Shui.

"Riku too," I said quietly.

"What's wrong?" asked Shui. She came and patted me on the shoulder.

"Nothing," I said, trying to perk up a bit.

"Well, it's getting dark," said Shadi, looking awkward. "We should get back home." The three of us made our way to the boats on the dock. I saw Sora and Riku standing on the bridge to the paopu island. Riku was holding a paopu fruit, which he tossed to Sora. He walked past Sora, who tossed the fruit aside and followed Riku. When the two got to the dock, Riku looked at me and beckoned me over.

"Have you ever tasted one of these?" asked Riku. He held up a second fruit.

"No," I said, blushing deeply.

"Well, here. Keep it," he said. "And if you can't come with us, maybe we can share it," he said. "Then we'll always be connected."

"Maybe," I said. I took the fruit and put it in my pocket.

"Come on, Feng," said Shui. I looked at Riku, and he winked at me, heading over to his boat. I sighed and got into my own boat.

 **KHR**

Donald Duck, the Court Wizard of Disney Castle, walked proudly through the Colonnade, passing a group of brooms carrying buckets. He stopped in front of two enormous double doors, and he cleared his throat, knocking three times. A smaller door just his size opened, and he walked inside.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," said Donald. He walked toward the King's golden throne. "It's nice to see you this morn— "

He stopped talking when he realized the throne was empty.

"What!"

Pluto, the King's dog, walked out from behind the throne, carrying an envelope in his mouth. Donald opened it and read the letter. He blinked at the letter, then sped back out into the Colonnade. He zoomed across the courtyard to where Goofy, Captain of the Royal Knights, was sleeping.

"Wake up, Goofy, wake up! This is serious!" said Donald, though Goofy continued to sleep. Donald's temper finally got the better of him. He pointed his finger into the air, yelled, and summoned a lightning bolt. It swooped down and hit Goofy in the side, jolting him awake. He sat up sleepily and looked around.

"Hey there, Donald. G'morning," said Goofy.

"We've got a problem, Goofy! But don't tell anyone...," began Donald.

"Queen Minnie?" asked Goofy.

"Not even the queen."

"Daisy?"

"No, it's top secret!" said Donald, shaking his head furiously.

"G'morning, ladies," called Goofy over Donald's shoulder.

"What?" asked Donald. He turned to see his girlfriend Daisy, hands on her hips, and Queen Minnie. Daisy cleared her throat and Donald laughed sheepishly.

 **KHR**

When we returned to the island the next day, I was surprised to see Kairi waiting for us.

"Hi, Kairi," I said. She smiled at us.

"Okay, since you guys are so interested in the raft, you're going to help. We're going to need some logs if you want to come with us, so hustle up and find some, okay?" she said.

"Wait, we get to go too?" asked Shui.

"Yeah!" said Kairi. "It was Riku's idea, actually." I blushed and looked down to hide it.

"We'll split up," said Shadi. "I'll look on the beach, Shui can look over on the paopu island, and Feng can take the back beach." I went over to the back beach and found Sora and Riku in a conversation.

"Hey, how about...," began Riku.

"The usual?" said Sora.

"Let's do it!" said Riku.

Kairi came over to where they were standing. "You guys at it again? All right, I'll be the judge. The usual rules apply. Take any route you want. First one to tag that tree and make it back here wins."

"If I win, I'm captain! And if you win— "

"I get to share a paopu with someone," he said cryptically. Did he mean me? Or maybe Kairi? They did spend a lot of time together. Thinking about it made the green monster in me come out.

"Huh?" asked Sora.

"Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with whoever they want," said Riku.

"Wha... Wait a minute...," said Sora, but Kairi was already talking.

"Okay! On my count: Three! Two! One! Go!"

I watched the two race. Riku wasn't doing too well: he fell through a broken board on the bridge and had to take the long way after Sora beat him to the zip line. Sora eventually won the race, and I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Man, lighten up. It's just a name, after all," said Riku coolly. Then he noticed me, and looked away. I marched past him, and began to look for logs.

"Good job, Sora," I said as I passed Sora.

"Thanks?" said a bamboozled Sora. I continued walking. I scanned the beach until I had four logs, then I brought then over to Kairi.

"Riku's going to help you attach them," said Kairi. Riku came over and began to add the logs onto the raft.

"Thanks for helping us," I told him. "I didn't want to go without my friends."

"No problem," he said. He wiped sweat from his forehead.

"And… I have a question," I said.

"Yeah?" he said, looking up at me.

"Hey!" said Shui. She and Shadi were walking toward us, dragging logs with them.

"Good, we should have enough now," said Riku. He looked back at me, then went back to work. I sighed as Sora and Kairi walked up to us with some eggs, mushrooms, coconuts, fish, and a few bottles of water.

"We have provisions!" said Kairi happily. She and Sora packed the stuff into some baskets, and the six of us got to work on the raft. Eventually, Riku turned to Sora.

"Sora, where's that cloth that I brought to reinforce the sail?" he asked.

"I… I think I left it somewhere. Maybe the secret place?" Sora replied.

"Well, I need you to go and get it," said Riku. Sora stood up and began to walk away.

"Wait," I said. Everyone stopped to look at me. "I want to go too."

"Huh?" asked Sora. "Why?"

"If we're going to go out into the unknown on a raft together, I want to know everyone," I said. That wasn't really the truth, but I didn't want anyone, least of all Riku, to know that.

"Okay," said Sora. Everyone else looked suspicious, but I quickly went off after Sora. We walked in silence for a few seconds before I spoke.

"Sora, you and Riku are best friends, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. Why?" he asked.

"Does… does he like Kairi?" I asked.

"Yeah, they're friends," he said.

"But does he like her?"

"Oh. I don't know," said Sora, blushing. "Sometimes it seems like it, but..."

"Okay. I was just— "

"Do you like him?" Sora asked me.

"I— No!" I said, but my hesitation gave it away.

"You do!" he said.

"Don't tell anyone!" I said. "Please."

"I won't, I promise. I know how you feel."

"Kairi?" I asked. He nodded.

We reached the secret place. It was a cave, which was lit by a small hole in the roof. There were chalk drawings all over the walls from years and years past, and at the opposite end of the small cave was a door. The only reason I even knew about it was because Riku had shown me years before. He only did that because Sora had shown Kairi, and he only thought it was fair.

The folded white cloth was on the ground, and next to it stood a hooded man.

"Wh-who are you?" asked Sora.

"I've come to see the door to this world," said the mystery man.

"Huh?" Sora and I said in unison.

"This world has been connected," said the man.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" asked Sora.

"Tied to the darkness... Soon to be completely eclipsed."

"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking us out like this," I said, drawing my wooden sword.

"Wh-Where did you come from?" asked Sora. He looked freaked out.

"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door."

"So, you're from another world!" asked Sora. How he got to that conclusion, I'll never know, but I knew the man wasn't from around there.

"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little," said the figure.

"Oh, yeah? Well, you'll see. I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!" said Sora, glaring at the man.

"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."

"Oh, so I know nothing?" I said, gritting my teeth and holding up my sword. The man just chuckled softy.

Sora and I looked toward the door in the wall: it had no lock or doorknob, but it was distinctly door-shaped. We turned back to the figure in the shadows, but he had disappeared.

"Do you know who that was?" Sora asked me.

"No," I said. "But I don't think he was friendly. Let's go back to the raft." We walked back in silence, and when we got back, Riku was gone, Shadi and Shui were hunched over a book on nautical navigation, and Kairi was leaning against the raft's mast, making something out of shells.

"What's that?" asked Sora.

"This? I'm making a necklace of Thalassa shells. In the old days, sailors always wore Wayfinder charms made of Thalassa shells. They were supposed to ensure a safe voyage. See this?" she said, holding the unfinished star-shaped charm up so we could see it. "It's a charm to help us find each other if we ever get separated. The three of us will always be together. And you three too, now, Feng." She put the Wayfinder in her pocket.

"Tired? Want to call it a day?" she asked us.

"Yeah, let's go home," said Sora, and I nodded in agreement.

"Okay, tomorrow's the big day. We should rest up!" said Kairi.

 **KHR**

Later, I went into the secret place. I ran my hand over the drawings and thought about what it would be like in other worlds. I wondered if how many of the drawings Riku had made, and If it would be okay if I drew something.

I picked up a rock and etched a picture of us all, with me and Riku holding a paopu in the center. I heard a cough behind me and I spun around.

It was Riku. He looked over my drawing for a second, then turned to me. "You're not good at drawing," he said.

"I know," I said. "I just wanted to leave my mark here too. I'm a little scared."

"It'll work. I'm sure of it. Especially with Shadi on board. He's a genius, right?" said Riku.

"Well, that's not— "

"We'll make it. We'll leave this island behind. It feels like a prison sometimes. I know there's more out there." I could hear the conviction in his voice.

"I'm sure there is," I said. "Riku, do you…"

"What?" he asked when I went silent.

"Oh, it's nothing," I said. He eyed me suspiciously, but let it drop. He went over to a picture on the wall, and stared hard at it for a few moments. Then he went up to the door and pressed his hand against it. His eyes were closed.

"I always wanted to know what was behind this door. But I could never get it to open. It's the reason I even showed this place too Sora. I thought that, no matter how much it would tick me off, maybe he could open it. But he couldn't either. I kept trying everything I could think of to open it. Then I thought that I might not be strong enough to open it yet. And so I have to get out there, to gain the strength that I need to open it. I need to be stronger." His hand dropped to his side, and he clenched it into a fist. He turned back to me.

"You're really strong already. You always beat me and Sora and everyone in fights. You— "

"That's not the kind of strength I mean," he said. He turned and walked to the cave's exit. "And Feng?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Everything." And then he left.

 **KHR**

"Donald. Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it. There's someone with a "key"—the key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find him, and stick with him. Got it? We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction."

"P.S. Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal."

Donald finished the letter and looked at the queen and Daisy.

"Oh, dear! What could this mean?" asked Daisy.

"It means we'll just have to trust the king," said Minnie.

"Gawrsh, I sure hope he's all right," said Goofy.

"Your Highness. Don't worry. We'll find the king and this 'key.'" said Donald.

"Thank you, both of you," said Minnie.

"Daisy, can you take care of the— "

"Of course, Donald. You be careful, now, both of you," said Daisy.

"Oh, and to chronicle your travels, he will accompany you," said Minnie, pointing to a small bug jumping up and down on the desk.

"Over here!" the bug said. Donald looked at him. "Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket, at your service." He bowed with his tiny top hat in his hand.

"We hope for your safe return. Please help the king," said Minnie. Donald stood at attention, and Goofy saluted him.

"You're coming, too!" said Donald. They made their way to the courtyard, the began to climb the stairs down to the Gummi Control Center, guided by the dim, mouse-shaped lights that lined the hallway. Jiminy was sitting on Goofy's helmet, and Donald walked ahead of them.

"Gawrsh, Jiminy, your world disappeared, too?" asked Goofy.

"It was terrible. We were scattered. And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to this castle," said Jiminy, hanging his head.

"Goofy?" asked Donald sternly.

"Oh, right... I gotcha. Ya mean, while we're in other worlds, we can't let on where we're from. We've gotta protect the world border," said Goofy, scratching his head. The movement made his helmet move, and Jiminy hung on for dear life.

"Order," Donald corrected.

"Right. World order," said Goofy. He laughed and Donald sighed. They walked through a crown-shaped doorway. "I guess we'll need new duds when we get there."

They entered the Gummi Ship Control Room. The whirring of machines filled the air, and giant gears spun all along the walls. Mechanical arms hung down from the ceiling around a small orange spaceship. Inside the dome of the cockpit were three seats. Donald walked toward a large yellow tube and put a hand to his mouth.

"Hello up there? Donald Duck to launch crew! Anytime you're ready," he said.

Up in the control booth, Donald's voice echoed out of the other end of the tube into the ears of a black-nosed chipmunk wearing an apron. Chip saluted, and a second chipmunk, this one with a red nose, ran toward a control panel. Dale jumped up and turned a blue lever. Steam billowed out of pipes in the ceiling as more gears spun on the walls. Dale jumped to the window and the two chipmunks watched one of the mechanical hands move across the room. The hand picked up Goofy, carrying him upside down with his arms outstretched while Jiminy hung on tight. Donald crossed his arms and frowned when he was picked up the same way. As the cockpit opened, Pluto ran into the room and jumped into the Gummi Ship. A light spun on the wall as a runway opened, with lights blinking along the path. A lift moved the ship, aiming it at the tunnel, as Daisy and Queen Minnie entered the room to see the departure. Donald gave Daisy a thumbs-up and a wink as the rocket's engines started up with a shower of flames. Donald pointed forward toward the tunnel.

"Blast off!" he shouted.

In the tunnel, a large neon arrow blinked on. The shaft below the Gummi Ship opened, and the ship fell through it, and Donald and Goofy screamed. The ship dropped out of the world and the engine burst on, sending them out into space.

 **KHR**

I sat in my bed, thinking about setting sail. I was excited, especially at the prospect of finding new worlds and meeting new people.

I need to be stronger.

And then there was Riku. I wondered what kind of strength he meant. I thought about him in the secret place, and I got nervous. He reminded me of the man in the robe that me and Sora met. Both of them seemed to be fixed on the door. I wondered what was behind it.

Maybe it was a door to another world. Maybe that was why the mysterious man said the world was connected. If I could just open that door, we could go to another world.

I jumped up out of bed, pulling on my vest. I had to try and open the door.

I ran down to the beach, where I noticed that everyone's boat was missing except mine and Sora's. I wondered what was going on, and I hoped that everyone was okay as I got in my boat and rowed to the island at full speed.

When I arrived on the island, three boats were at the dock. I spotted Riku on the paopu island, and I made my way toward him.

Suddenly, several of the creatures from my dream fell from the sky, where a strange floating orb had appeared. I tried to fight off the creatures with my wooden sword, but it passed harmlessly through them. After several failed attempts to fight the things, I was sweating and panting.

"Feng!" shouted a voice, and I turned to find Sora running toward me.

"Sora!" I said. "What are you doing?"

"There's a storm going on. I came to save the raft," he said. The creatures had swarmed us, but we ran away quickly.

"Sora, Riku's up there!" I said, pointing to the paopu island. We ran for the island, and found that Riku had not moved. He turned to face us, but he was still, almost like he was in a trance.

Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!

"The door has opened...," he said.

"What?" Sora asked. I looked at him.

"You opened it?" I asked.

"The door has opened, Sora! Feng! Now we can go to the outside world!" he said.

"What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!" said Sora.

"Shadi and Shui are here too!" I added.

"They're coming with us!" said Riku. Sora looked shocked.

"What are you talking about, Riku" I asked.

"Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" He held out his hand.

"Riku...," Sora said. I stepped toward Riku, meaning to take his hand. A pool of darkness formed at our feet, its tendrils licking at where we stood, wrapping around our bodies. Sora rushed forward to grab both me and Riku, and the darkness grabbed at him as well. He tried to reach toward us, but the weight of the darkness pulled him down.

Riku's face remained unchanged as Sora failed to grab his hand. The darkness started to get to me, and I blacked out for a moment before a light twinkled in the darkness behind my eyelids. It started out small, but soon it grew into an incredible brightness. It filled my vision, and when I opened my eyes, I was lying on the ground.

I stared at the large object in my hand. Its purple handle and silver blade shined like a sword, but the tip of the blade was in the shape of a star, making the thing look like a key. A keychain hung from the pommel of the weapon.

 _Keyblade... Keyblade..._

I looked back and saw that Sora had a weapon that was almost identical to mine, but with a slightly different shape and colors.

Several of the creatures, which I decided to call Shadows, appeared around us and I swung at them with the Keyblade. A Shadow, unable to dodge, was knocked backward in a flurry of stars. We could hit them with the Keyblade!

"Sora! Use the Keyblade!" I said. He struck one of the creatures with the Keyblade. With a few more swings, the darkness of the Shadows was driven away by me and Sora. Even so, more and more kept coming.

"We'll split up!" I told him. "You look for Kairi and I'll find the twins!" He nodded and ran off, and I ran to the back beach.

I arrived to a strange sight: the hooded man from the secret place had appeared, and he was holding out his hands to Shadi and Shui, who were both about to shake them.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"He's right!" Shadi shouted. "I need to get out there! A raft would never work!"

"I'm going with him!" Shui said. "Come on, Feng!"

"No, you can't!" I said. "It's a trap!"

"No, it's okay! It's— "

But I didn't get to hear what it was, because the hooded man erupted in an explosion of darkness. The darkness blinded me, and I felt myself being blown back through the nothingness.

I came to on the beach, the purple sky stretching around the island. Sora was next to me, kneeling in the sand and looking around at the island below him. Large chunks of the island had broken off and risen into the sky towards the dark orb. It loomed above us, lightning crackling in its dark depths as the

wind swirled rocks and wood wildly around us.

"What's happening?" Sora asked me.

"I don't know!" I answered. "But I don't like it!"

I looked up to see the large creature from my dream, which I called the Darkside, towering above us. Sora and I summoned our Keyblades as the Darkside knelt on the ground. Energy pulsed in the heart-shaped hole in its torso, and it released orbs of light that targeted us. Sora and I each picked an arm and began attacking, while trying our best to dodge the beams of energy. The Darkside stood, and we could no longer reach it. It paused for a moment, peering at us through its glowing yellow eyes.

"Sora, I've got an Idea!" I shouted. "When it brings its arms down again, climb them up to its shoulder! We can hit it in the face!"

Sora looked up at the Darkside and shouted, "Hey, ugly! Your face is wide open!"

The creature leaned forward and clenched its hand into a fist, gathering strength, before slamming its fist into the ground. It spawned a pool of darkness along the sandy floor, and Shadows emerged from it. Sora and I ran past them to the Darkside's wrist, running along its arm to its shoulder. I jumped through the air and slashed at the creature's face as Sora hit it over the head.

The wind howled louder and blew faster as the island moved closer to the orb of energy. Sora dropped to the ground as the Darkside was pulled into the air. I rolled as I hit the ground, and jumped to my feet. The wind whipped at us, and Sora was holding on to a nearby board for dear life. Every muscle in his body tensed as the wind pulled him upward. As his fingers lost their grip, and I reached up to grab his hand. As our hands connected, Sora's momentum yanked me into the air as well. I could feel my consciousness slipping as I was yanked into the void.


	2. Traverse Town

**Author's Note: So, time for several explanations.**

 **First, I do have an upload schedule. This fic's chapters are way longer than the ones in the old version, so I need more time to work on them. Though nothing is set in stone, I plan to upload a chapter every three days. When I reach the end of a story and start work on another one, I may take a short hiatus to get my ducks in a row.**

 **Second, this will be a series. I will be releasing them in release date order and not chronological order, so it goes Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, Birth by Sleep, Dream Drop Distance, and then maybe Kingdom Hearts III if it's out by then. I am not doing 358/2 Days or coded/RE:coded.**

 **Third, clearing up some descriptions. I used other things for reference, so some of the characters have features of other characters. Feng basically has Lightning's hairstyle but blond, and her shorts look like Neku's but shorter and with cuffed hems. Her Keyblade is the base form of the Starlight Keyblade from x[chi].**

 **So, I guess I've bored you long enough, so please enjoy and if you have comments, questions, suggestions, or otherwise, leave a review. Thank you!**

In a small, quiet town, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto walked through the gates. Thousands of stars shone brilliantly in the night sky above them. Goofy looked up at the sky and stopped, gazing upward. Donald turned around as Goofy pointed upward; Donald followed his gaze and gasped.

"Look, a star's goin' out!" said Goofy, shocked. A bright star in the night sky twinkled for a moment, then blinked out of existence. Donald's face turned serious

"Come on. Let's hurry," Donald said. Goofy nodded, and they walked across the center of the 1st District toward a flight of steps. The neon letters of the various shops blinked, lighting up the night with a dozen colors. There were a few townsfolk mulling around the picturesque town square. Pluto ran ahead of the two.

"Where's that key...," Donald puzzled, scratching his head.

"Hey, ya know, maybe we ought to go find Leon," Goofy suggested. They reached the top of the steps in front of an accessory shop. Pluto sniffed around a dark alleyway, but Donald was already set on going in the opposite direction. Goofy noticed Pluto and stopped walking.

"Uh, Donald. Ya know, I betcha that— "

"Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?" Donald interrupted. He continued walking off to the right without looking back.

"What do I know? Hmm...," Goofy pondered for a moment. He finally shrugged and followed after Donald.

"Come on, Pluto," Goofy called out to the yellow dog. Though the dog didn't follow, Goofy and Donald kept walking.

KHR

I sat up with a start, my head aching. I rubbed my eyes and looked around.

I was not on the islands, that much I knew for sure. I was surrounded by stone buildings, and I saw thousands of stars in the sky above me. I stood up and dusted myself off.

After a quick look around, I noticed a door right next to me. I tried it, and it was open, so in I went.

The room that I was in was sparsely decorated, and on a rug near the window sat two sad-looking dogs. I went over to them, and the one with the red collar raised his head to look at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, petting him. I doubted he could talk, but he just looked so crushed that I couldn't help but feel bad. I pet the other dog as well.

"What are you doing in here?" asked a voice. I spun around quickly, and I saw a girl had just come in through the other door. She was obviously a few years older than me, and she had black hair and weird red eyes. She wore a tank top that showed of her midriff, and shorts with suspenders. She had on boots and a pair of leather gloves.

"I have no clue," I said, nervous. I didn't want her to think that I was some kind of criminal who broke into her house. "Ummm… the door was unlocked and I just woke up outside and I— The islands!" I had just remembered that my friends and my home where gone. "My friends are in trouble! I have to figure out where I am and— "

"Hey, calm down," said the girl. There was a look of understanding on her face, like she knew what was going on. "It'll be okay. My name's Tifa."

"I'm Feng," I said.

"Okay. I have to go do something important before I can help you, though. It's dangerous. Do you have a weapon?"

I held out my hand and the Keyblade appeared in it. Tifa gasped loudly, and pointed at my hand. "It's you," she said. "You have the Key."

"What, this thing?" I said, holding it up. "What's so special about it?"

"You have to come with me. We're going to Cid's," she said.

"Wait, who? What are you talking about?" I asked, confused.

"He's a friend of mine. I'll explain later," she said. She grabbed my hand and pulled me from the house and out into the town.

The place we were in now was a back alley with a waterway running alongside it. As soon as the door closed, several Shadows appeared around us.

"More of them!" Tifa said, raising her fists. I hoped she didn't plan on fighting the creatures with her bare hands, because I didn't think that hand-to-hand combat would be more effective than a wooden sword. I summoned the Keyblade and sank into a fighting pose.

"Those are the Heartless," she said. "They're creatures of pure darkness, and they steal the hearts of others. They've been everywhere lately."

"They were on my island," I said.

"Seems like my theory was right," she said.

"What?" I asked, but the Heartless charged. I swung at the one nearest to me, and it vanished. I turned to help Tifa, but I stopped cold and my jaw dropped, because she had just punched a Heartless in the face. It exploded into a shower of darkness.

"How did you…?" I asked.

"Master Zangan knew what he was doing," she said. I swatted at another Heartless with the Keyblade and it dissipated. Two more Heartless surged, and Tifa kicked them toward me. I swung the Keyblade downward, and the two Shadows dissipated.

"Good job," Tifa said.

"You too," I said. "You punched a creature of pure darkness in the face. And it exploded."

"It's nice to have help though. They're everywhere," she said. She began walking down the alley, and I followed.

"You know," she began. "I've seen some really good swordplay before— "

"Thanks!" I said before she could finish her comment.

"And you could use a lot of work," she finished.

"Oh," I said, blushing. I didn't think I was that bad. But thinking about it, I hadn't beaten Riku, and he had about as much training as I did.

"Well, do you know anyone who can help?" I said.

"I have a friend," she said. "But I don't know if he could help if he wanted to. He's not very patient." She sighed.

"Oh," I said. "I guess I thought I was better than I actually am."

"Sometimes the first step to improving is admitting that you need to improve," Tifa said. Just then, a line of Heartless appeared between us. There were several Shadows, but there were also some with armored helmets, which I decided to call Soldiers. There were at least a dozen of them.

I summoned the Keyblade and attacked the nearest Soldier. It was far stronger than the Shadows, and smarter too. It jumped to the side and then kicked at my head. I was able to parry, but the Heartless were swarming me, and even more had appeared around Tifa.

"Feng, you need to run! Get to Cid's in the First District! And don't lose the Key!" she said.

"No, I have to— "

"I'll be fine, I promise," she said, kicking a Soldier in the chest. "I can get away, but they can't get the Key, it's too important!"

"Okay," I said reluctantly. I broke off into a run, but as I reached the nearest door, I looked back and saw Tifa running in the opposite direction, luring the Heartless away from me. I hoped she would be okay as I opened the door and ran inside.

I was in a plain-looking hallway. There were three doors on one side of the hallway, and two on the other. I went over to one of the doors and pushed it open, stepping out into the place where I woke up. A nearby sign told me that I was in Traverse Town's Second District.

Suddenly, a whole mess of Heartless appeared all around me. There were several dozens of Soldiers and Shadows in every direction. I summoned the Keyblade, turned, and slashed a few nearby Shadows into oblivion. I then parried a Soldier's spinning kick and sent it sprawling, then finished it off with a jab. No sooner had I done that, however, then even more Heartless appeared.

I looked around, trying to find a way to escape. I looked around me, but the Heartless were inching closer and I doubted I could fight my way through to run. I thought of my promise to Tifa and all of my friends that I needed to find, and I kept fighting.

Then a spinning metal disc cut through the Heartless like a loaf of bread. The disc moved in a wide arc, whirling around me and returning to its owner, who stood on a nearby roof.

She had long black hair that fell straight down her back, and dark brown eyes. She wore a light blue duster over a black tank top and black shorts and boots, and she had a metal bracer on her arm, which the disc flew and attached itself to. But what caused my jaw to drop was the pair of brilliant white wings that bloomed from her back.

She jumped from the roof and hovered down to where I stood, gentle as a breeze. She looked me over for a moment, then her eyes rested on the Keyblade. Big surprise there.

"You have the Key," she said.

"Yeah, and you have a big metal disc thing. Your point?" I asked.

"Are you always this abrasive to the people who save you?" she asked me. Her wings fluttered softly behind her, as if they had a mind of their own.

"Sorry," I sighed. "I'm kind of freaking out. Rough day."

"I get it," she said. "Your home was destroyed too." She must have noticed me staring at her wings, because they spread out wide, then disappeared in a flash of light.

"Destroyed? No way!" I said. "What about all of my friends, and my parents, and— "

"They're gone. They vanished with their world. But you escaped and were found by this world, a shelter to those without their own worlds," the woman explained.

"So they might be here?" I asked hopefully.

"Possibly," she said. "But you can't be sure."

"They're gone forever?" I asked.

"No, I never said that. That Key of yours is how you can save them," she said. "It's part of something bigger, and you can use it to free the worlds that were devoured by the Heartless."

"How?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know that. I just know that the Keyblade is vital. It's the only weapon that can destroy the Heartless. Defeat them with any other weapon, and they'll just make more with the hearts they release."

"So this is really important?" I asked, holding up the large key.

"Yes. You really should learn to fight better, or the Heartless will get it," she said. "And that would not be good."

"So I need to get it to Cid's. Like Tifa said," I told her.

"Then you need to go that way," she said.

I looked where she was pointing and spotted a large pair of wooden doors. I looked back to tell her thank you, but she had already disappeared. I looked around for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. I turned and walked through the doors she had indicated.

When I went through the doors, I saw more simple stone buildings, but I noticed a large plaza and some lamp posts a little further along. I ran straight forward, hopping off of a ledge into a dingy back alleyway, then I walked toward the plaza. As I rounded the corner, I heard voices, one of which sounded very familiar.

"Who are you?" Sora asked.

"And they'll keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade," said the other person, who was obviously a man. I peered around the corner and saw him. He wore an open leather jacket and pants. Beneath the jacket was a black shirt with a red lion symbol on it, which matched the lion necklace swinging against his chest. He was also wearing leather gloves and black combat boots, as well as a scar on his face.

He raised a gloved hand and pointed at the Keyblade that Sora had, his blue eyes gazing at Sora through his long dark hair.

"But why?" he asked. "Why would it choose a kid like you?" He put his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes, as if he were thinking deeply.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Sora.

"Never mind. Now, let's see that Keyblade," he said, walking slowly toward Sora and stretching out his hand. Sora sank into a fighting stance.

"What? There's no way you're getting this!" he said defiantly.

"All right, then. Have it your way," said the man. He pulled out a long sword that had the handle and barrel of a pistol. He slung it up over his shoulder, then hefting it in out in front of him. He summoned a ball of fire and launched it at Sora, who dodged. Sora ran toward the man and swung the Keyblade. He managed to hit the man once or twice, but then he sent him flying back with a slash. Sora retreated, but the man leapt over him. Sora jumped over the wall to the main square, but the man flung another ball of fire at him. Sora tried to parry, but the fire hit him and sent him sprawling backward onto the cobblestone ground. The man stood up straight as another girl came up behind him.

"Hey, you found it. Nice going, Leon," said the girl. She was beaming at him.

"Still...," Leon began. "It looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, stepping out with Keyblade in hand.

"Leon, she— "

"I know, Yuffie. I can see it," said the man, Leon.

"'It' my shorts. I am a person, not an object. And my name is Feng," I said, bolder than I felt. If Sora couldn't beat this guy, I knew I couldn't.

"What do we do with two?" said the girl, Yuffie, as if I wasn't there.

"Hold on, let me think!" Leon said. He stepped forward. "Okay, Feng. I'm gonna need that Keyblade of yours."

"No! Tifa told me to find Cid, and not to lose this thing. So you're not gonna get it," I said.

"Tifa?" said Leon with shock.

"Yeah. She told me that I had to get to Cid's," I said.

"Where is she?" he asked me.

"I don't know. She lured the Heartless away from me so I could get here," I told him.

"Leon, I think we should explain to her. She seems reasonable enough," said Yuffie.

"Yeah. Come with me," he said. I was hesitant for a moment. He knew Tifa, but that doesn't mean he was one of the good guys.

"How do I know I can trust you?" I asked.

"Because that'll be you if you don't," he said, pointing to the unconscious Sora. I knew that he was right, and when he picked up Sora and walked off, I followed.

KHR

Riku awoke on a cold stone platform. His fingers twitched and he opened his eyes, looking up to see a large waterfall and crystalline rock platforms floating in the air. The sounds of the falls filled his ears, as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Where...am I?" he asked out loud.

He looked around at the area. The waterfalls flowed upwards rather than downwards, and they completely surrounded him. There was no one else around.

"Sora! Kairi! Feng!" Riku called out, his shouts echoing back at him. He received no response. He stared down at the tiled ground beneath his feet.

Unbeknownst to him, his arrival was noticed by a tall figure in a black cloak, who walked forward on a much higher platform. The figure's greenish-gray hand and long violet fingernails were wrapped around a golden staff with a green orb. Two figures stepped out from the shadows behind her, gold and blue eyes focused on Riku. A boy and a girl, twins. The boy smiled.

"Found you," he said.

KHR

Back in Traverse Town, Donald and Goofy walked down the Alleyway in the Second District. So far, they hadn't had any luck in their search. The dim light shone down on the two.

"Gawrsh, there's nobody here. Sure is spooky!" said Goofy, scratching his head.

"Aw, phooey. I'm not scared," said Donald, crossing his arms. Behind him, a brunette in a pink dress tapped on his shoulder and he screamed. He leapt into the air and into Goofy's arms, shivering like a wet Chihuahua.

"Excuse me. Did the king send you?" the girl asked.

At the mention of the King, Donald stopped shaking and the two of them turned to see the young woman. Her hair was braided and tied up with a pink bow. Her pink dress was simple, and on her feet were brown boots. She smiled at the two of them.

KHR

Sora and I were with Leon and Yuffie in a hotel room. Yuffie was leaning over Sora, trying to wake him up, and Leon had just finished explaining things to me.

"Hey, Leon?" I asked.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Can you help me? I want to learn to fight better," I said.

"Well, I suppose I could teach you something," said Leon. He drew his gunblade and held it at the ready. I followed suit with the Keyblade. He instantly shook his head.

"What? I already messed up?" I asked.

"You would be better if you stood like this," he said, showing me a stance. I copied him, and he nodded. "Much better."

I could see what he meant. The way I was standing made me feel more secure and maneuverable.

"Now, attack," he said, blocking with his gunblade. I slashed at him, but he easily pushed back and disarmed me.

"Watch it!" Yuffie shouted as the Keyblade flew past her head, missing her by mere inches.

"How is this helping me?" I asked.

"You have to find a way to get past my guard," he said. "You can't push back, I'm too strong. You can't just rely on brute force."

I thought about what he said for a moment as the Keyblade returned to my hand. He raised his sword to block again, and I had an idea.

I slashed directly at his blade, and as he prepared to push back, I feinted and spun, slashing upward. The Keyblade collided with the gunblade and sent is spinning out of his hand. It stuck itself in the floor behind me, and I leveled the Keyblade at Leon's throat.

"She's fast…," Leon muttered, rubbing his wrist.

My eyes went wide. "I did it!" I shouted, jumping up and down.

"You're not bad," said Leon. "You just didn't think enough. You can do a lot better when you know your options."

"Thanks," I told him. Yuffie leaned back over Sora.

"Come on, lazy bum. Wake up," she said. She kinda sounded like Kairi.

Sora shook his head and opened his eyes.

"You okay?" Yuffie asked him.

"I guess...," Sora mumbled.

"Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade. But it's your heart they really want, because you wield the Keyblade," Yuffie explained to him. He smiled like a dope.

"I'm so glad that you're okay, Kairi," he said.

"You broke him, Leon," I said.

"Kairi? Who are you talking about? I'm the great ninja Yuffie," Yuffie said. "I think you might've overdone it, Squall."

"Who?" I asked.

"That's Leon," Leon said. I guess his real name was Squall.

"The Keyblade...," Sora said. He held out his hand and the Keyblade appeared.

"Yeah, we tried to get it away from you to shake off those creatures. It turns out that's how they were tracking you," said Yuffie. "But when we tried to pick it up, it vanished."

Leon crossed his arms. "Even if we did get it away from him it wouldn't have worked for long." Sora sat up in the bed and stared down at the floor."

"Still hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one," said Leon. "Well, you and her." He pointed to me. "Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

"Why don't you start making sense! What's going on here? Feng, what happened?" Sora asked. I looked at him solemnly.

"Okay, you know there are many other worlds out there besides the islands and this town. But they're supposed to be a secret. They've been secret because they've never been connected. Until now," I informed him, remembering what Leon told me.

"When the Heartless came, everything changed," said Leon.

"The Heartless?" Sora asked.

"The ones who attacked you, you remember?" asked Yuffie.

"Those without hearts. They come from the darkness in people's hearts, and that's what attracts them," I said.

"And there is darkness within every heart," Leon added.

"Hey, have you heard of someone named Ansem?" Yuffie asked me and Sora. We both shook our heads.

"He was studying the Heartless. He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report," said Leon.

"Can we see it?" I asked. "Would it help us?"

"Its pages are scattered everywhere," said Leon. "To many worlds."

"So, we should find it?" I asked.

"It might help. But one thing is more important," said Leon. I summoned my Keyblade.

"The Keyblade," I said.

"So... this is the key?" asked Sora, holding up his own Keyblade.

"Exactly!" said Yuffie, nodding vigorously. "Although we don't know why you both have one. We didn't know there was more than one."

"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade," Leon said, walking over to the door. "And two of them is a much greater threat. That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what."

"Well, I didn't ask for this," said Sora.

"The Keyblade chooses its master. And it chose you two," said Yuffie.

"So tough luck," said Leon, leaning against the door.

"How did all this happen? I remember being in my room...," said Sora, thinking. He gasped sharply, and stood up frantically. "Wait a minute! What happened to our home? Our island? Riku! Kairi! Shadi and Shui!"

"You know what? I really don't know," said Leon.

"It was devoured. By the Heartless," I said. Leon eyed me suspiciously.

"And what gave you that idea?" he asked me.

"The girl with the wings," I said. He bolted upright, showing genuine emotion for the first time.

"You saw Rinoa?" he asked me. "Where?"

"She was in the Second District," I told him.

"She did make it!" said Yuffie. "I told you, Squall." Leon's face was unreadable, then he went back to normal and leaned back against the door. I guessed that Rinoa was important to him. Now everyone looked discouraged.

"Hey, cheer up!" said Yuffie. "I've heard that the Keyblade can open all sorts of locks. Maybe you'll find a really important one!"

"Sooner or later, the Heartless will find you. You'd best prepare yourself," said Leon.

"Prepare myself?" asked Sora.

"To fight for your life. Are you ready?" Leon asked. I nodded, thinking about his advice again. Not just to act, but to think and plan as well. I may not have been a strong fighter, but I was fast. I had to focus on my strengths rather than my shortcomings.

"I'm ready!" Sora said.

"I want to see what you two can do," said Leon. "Spar."

"What?" Sora and I asked at the same time.

"You need to prove to me that you can do this. Fight. Just don't hurt each other."

"Well?" I asked Sora. "Are we doing this?" He summoned his Keyblade and nodded. He rushed at me.

I clearly had the speed advantage. I stepped to the side as he slashed, and he stumbled. I took my chance and moved forward, slashing downward. He blocked it and sprang to his feet. We swung at the same time and our blades clashed. I pushed, but I knew I couldn't hold him forever; he had a physical advantage.

I thought for a moment, then jumped to the side. My Keyblade vanished and Sora tumbled again. I summoned my weapon once again, then I flung it at him. It hit him, but it also pushed him up and balanced him. Now that he had regained his balance, he attacked with a powerful jumping move that I couldn't avoid in time. We swung and our blades collided again when Leon stopped us.

"You two will be fine. Yuffie, let's go join Aerith. She should be there now with the other visitors," said Leon.

Yuffie pointed to the other end of the room. "Leon!" she cried as a Soldier Heartless appeared, clattering awkwardly. Leon ran forward to meet it.

"Yuffie, go!" ordered Leon. Yuffie ran into the next room, where a girl in a pink dress was standing next to the bed.

"Yuffie?" the girl puzzled. She ran after Yuffie as Leon took out his gunblade.

"Sora, Feng, let's go!" barked Leon.

Leon slammed the Heartless through the window of the room, and it flew out over the balcony and down into the alleyway below. Leon ran after it, and Sora and I followed. In the Alleyway, more Heartless appeared around us.

"Don't bother with the small fry. Find the leader! Let's go!" Leon instructed, running down the Alley toward the door to the main district.

Sora and I worked better together than I would've thought. Once, a Soldier kicked at us, but I blocked and then Sora took it out. Another time, a Shadow emerged from the ground behind Sora, and I took it and several other Heartless out with a throw of my Keyblade. We fought our way into the Second District, where Leon was fighting off a large group of Heartless.

"I'll check the First District. You guys get the third," he said. I nodded, and Sora and I ran down a side alley and through the door to the Third District.

We looked around, but there wasn't even a single Heartless in the Third District. We went over by the water fountain.

"So, Sora, what are we gonna do?" I asked him.

"I don't know. We need to find our friends," he said.

"They must be here. This is where people go when their worlds disappear. Or some of them do," I said. "But what about Riku? And Shadi and Shui?" I remembered the dark tendrils wrapping themselves around Riku, and the stranger holding out his hands, and shivered.

I heard a loud crash, Sora and I both turned to see what made the noise. We turned and tried to run as two anthropomorphic animals crashed down on top of us. I could see stars.

"The key!" Donald and Goofy shouted as their eyes came to rest on Sora's Keyblade.

"And what am I, chopped liver?" I asked.

"Two keys?!" they shouted even more loudly. The whole district began to shake, and all four of us looked around, still in a pile on the ground.

Large blocks rose from the ground and blocked the exits. Heartless surrounded them as we stood up, ready to fight. A Soldier launched a quick kick at me, but one of the creatures, an anthropomorphic dog, blocked it with his shield.

"Thanks," I told him. He smiled then turned back to the Heartless. I attacked the nearest enemy in quick succession until it vanished. Next to me, the anthropomorphic duck quacked loudly, and a lightning bolt dropped out of the sky and destroyed a few Heartless.

After defeating the horde of Soldiers, I heard a clattering sound from above. I reached over and pulled the duck out of the way as huge pieces of armor began falling from the sky. They hit the ground and bounced into the air, spinning wildly. The arms and feet gathered around the torso, which was emblazoned with a red and black symbol that I had also noticed on the Soldiers. Once the armor had formed, the giant Heartless landed on the ground with a loud clatter. It stood for a moment before the helmet slammed down onto top of the torso with a bright flash. The battle had begun.

The Guard Armor, as I called it, spun its head and arms as it lumbered toward us. Sora attacked its arms, but it didn't even slow down. The two animals tried their best to strike the tough armor, but they couldn't do much either. It began spinning its arms wildly around its body, and the duck got caught in the twister, which knocked him out. I quickly attacked one of the arms and the Guard Armor stomped the ground in anger, which sent me flying backwards. It jumped into the air, and then its pieces clattered to the ground with a hollow clanking sound. Sora attacked one arm and I attacked the other. The dog ran over to the duck, and helped him get back up.

Despite our attacks, Sora and I were not able to destroy the arms. The armor came back together, and then they all separated. The torso raced around the area, swirling wildly like a top, while the arms spun wildly like a fan and the feet stamped around. Once we were all knocked on our butts, the Heartless came back together. I found myself thinking about Leon's advice.

"Sora!" I said. "I have a plan! I need a boost!" Sora looked confused and concerned, but he let his Keyblade vanish, and he interlocked his fingers. "Duck guy!" I said. He looked ticked off about being called "duck guy", but I didn't know his name. "When I say 'now', I need you to summon another lightning bolt. "And you! Stretch!" I told the dog. "When he summons the lightning bolt, I need you to throw your shield. Aim just above the head!" I said. Then I ran toward Sora.

When my foot landed in his hand, he flung me way up in the air. "Now!" I shouted, and the duck's lightning bolt hit the Keyblade, supercharging it. Then the shield appeared below me, and I did a flip, slashing down with all my might. My electrified blade collided with the shield and made a sort of hammer, which crashed down on the top of the Guard Armor's head. The head flew straight down through the torso, crashing into the ground so hard that it left a small crater.

The torso began to explode from the inside, shaking the area around us. It left nothing but a large, glowing heart, which floated up into the air. The rest of the Guard Armor disappeared. The District grew silent, the only sound the gentle trickle of the fountain. The columns of stone sank back into the ground, and Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Tifa ran inside. I was so happy that Tifa was okay that I ran over and gave her a hug.

"So, you were looking for us?" Sora asked the two animals after everything had been explained.

"Uh-huh!" the two animals said, nodding.

"They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade. Never would have guessed they'd find two," said Leon.

"Hey, why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel," said the dog. "The more keys, the harrier."

"Merrier," corrected the duck.

"I wonder if we could find Riku and Kairi... and Shadi and Shui…," Sora said.

"Yeah, do you think we'll find them if we go with you?" I asked. I noticed Leon close his eyes, and I wondered if he knew how we felt.

"Of course," said the duck. They whispered back and forth for a few moments.

"Sora, Feng, go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends," said Leon.

"We've got to find them," I said. "I know they're out there somewhere." I thought about my friends: Shadi, Shui, Kairi, and Riku. I blushed as I thought of him.

"Yeah, I guess," said Sora halfheartedly. He hung his head.

"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand?" the duck said, waving his finger. "No frowning. No sad faces. Okay?"

"Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!" said the dog.

"This boat runs on happy faces," said the duck, pushing the dog aside.

"Happy?" Sora asked the smiling animals. He lifted his head up quickly, revealing a huge cheesy grin. When no one responded to it, he stopped awkwardly. Then the two animals and I burst into a fit of laughing.

"That's one funny face!" said the dog.

"Okay, why not? I'll go with you guys," said Sora.

"Count me in like a square dance," I added.

"Donald Duck," said the duck, holding out a hand.

"Name's Goofy," said the dog, placing his hand on top of Donald's.

"I'm Sora," said Sora, doing the same.

"And I'm Feng," I said, adding my hand to the top of the stack.

"All for one, one for all," said Goofy.

KHR

In a room full of darkness, a group with equally dark intentions gazed at an image of the four which stood on a round table.

"Those little squirts took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it?" said one of the figures, who had flames for hair.

"Such is the power of the Keyblade. The children's strength is not their own," said a man with a staff and a turban.

"Why don't we turn them into Heartless?" asked a large woman who has eight dripping tentacles. She let out a cackle. "That'll settle things quick enough."

"And the brats' friends are the king's lackeys. Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them," said the man with a hook for a hand.

"You're no prize yourself," said a figure with a body like a burlap sack, texture and all.

"Shut up!" said the hook-handed man.

"Enough," said a tall and imposing figure in a black cloak. She gazed at the image on the table through narrow tallow eyes, her green skin glowing its pale light. Her long fingers curved tighter around the staff in her hand.

"The Keyblade has chosen them. Will they conquer the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow them? Either way, they could be quite useful," she said, smiling darkly. Behind her, the twins emerged from the darkness, the boy grinning evilly and the girl wearing a blank expression.

KHR

Sora and I were standing in front of Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Tifa.

"Make sure you're prepared for the journey ahead of you. We don't know how far the Heartless have spread," said Leon.

"This is from Leon. He doesn't want to give it to you himself because he doesn't want anyone to know he's nice," Aerith said, handing us each an Elixir. Leon looked away with a halfhearted scowl.

"There are Dalmatians named Pongo and Perdita living in the Second District...," he said.

"Oh yeah, I remember. What's wrong?" I asked.

"They're quite upset, these Dalmatians. They've lost their puppies," said Leon.

"Squall can't stop worrying about them," said Yuffie.

"Call me Leon," he said.

"Would you look for the puppies?" asked Tifa.

"Help them out," said Leon.

"Please, find the puppies for him," said Aerith. Leon did another pouty scowl.

"Squa-I mean, Leon-is really cute sometimes," Yuffie said. "Good luck!"

"I hope you find your friends," said Aerith.

"Don't forget to practice," Tifa warned.

"Look out for each other. Keep your spirits up," said Leon. Sora and I nodded, then turned and went over to Donald and Goofy.

"The gummi ship is outside that gate," he said, pointing toward a large set of wooden doors.

"The what?" asked Sora.

"That's our ship," said Donald.

"Wait 'til you see it!" said Goofy.

"But why is it called a gummi ship?" I asked.

"It's made of gummi parts," Donald explained. "A gummi is a piece of a world that was eaten by Heartless." He pulled out two orange orbs with yellow fire symbols on them. These are for you." He tossed the orbs to us, and we caught them. They glowed like hot coals, and my body was filled with warmth. The orbs faded away.

"Now you can use magic, too," said Donald.

"Okay, is that it? Let's get going!" Sora said.

"Not 'til we're ready!" said Donald.

"Well, I see big adventures coming their way! Looks like it's up to me to keep track of it all in my journal!" said a voice. I let out a small yelp.

"Ghost!" I said. "I knew they were real!"

"No," said the voice. "Up here!" I looked on Donald's hat and saw a tiny cricket in a top hat and coat. "I'm Jiminy Cricket, the Royal Chronicler. I'm gonna keep information that we might need in my journal. Now, I'd like to learn what happened before you two met Donald and Goofy."

Sora and I took turns telling Jiminy all about what happened on the islands. We described Shadi and Shui and Kairi and Riku, and I told him the names I had made up for the Heartless. Upon hearing them, he named me the official Heartless Namer. A great honor, I guess. When we were done, Jiminy hopped into one of Goofy's large pockets.

"Okay, we can go now," I said. Donald nodded in agreement, and we made our way to the gates.


	3. Wonderland

**Author's Note: I found it! Now that I at last have my flash drive back, I can continue to work on this story! I hope my readers enjoy this!**

The gummi ship was pretty spacious inside. We entered into a hybrid of a kitchen and den, and off to the back was a hallway with four bedrooms. Donald said that his and Goofy's rooms were on the right side, so Sora and I got the two on the left.

The rooms were pretty snazzy, too. Each had a large bed, a bureau, a TV, and an adjoining bathroom. I instantly plopped down onto the bed, sinking into the softness of it. Donald said that he would send Goofy to get us when we found a new world. He told us that there were food and drinks in the kitchen, and I decided that I was going to go get a bite to eat.

A few minutes later, I was feasting on sticky beef buns. They were warm and gooey, and the beef inside was the perfect mix of tangy, savory, and sweet. I made them from a little capsule. You just warm the capsule in a microwave, and it expands into whatever food was on the tin.

As I was finishing off the last bun, Goofy came in and told me that Donald found a new world, and he wanted to go over a few things with us. Goofy went in the back to fetch Sora as Donald climbed down the ladder that lead to the cockpit. When Sora and Goofy returned, Donald looked at us with a serious expression.

"Now, you guys need to know that we have to be careful when we're in other worlds," he began. "We can't interfere!"

"Oh, yeah," I said. "Why not?" It was a question I had been saving since we left Traverse Town.

"Well, people aren't supposed to know about other worlds because that's the way it's supposed to be," he said.

"But why?" asked Sora, scratching his head.

"Because if someone tries to go to other worlds without a gummi ship or some other way, they could make the worlds vulnerable to the Heartless," said Donald. "The worlds all used to have barriers that kept them from being accessed by the outside. A person could get in with magic, or other stuff, but nothing could get in from the outside directly. No ships and no Heartless."

"So we can't tell people about other worlds. Gotcha," I said.

"Also, we need to be careful," said Donald, opening the ship's door and walking out. "You never know what you might walk into." We followed Donald, listening to him and not paying much attention to anything else. I looked down.

"Donald, you might want to look down," I said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because we just stepped out onto a hole," I said. We all gulped, then the falling started.

 **KHR**

We had been falling for hours, or at least it seemed that way. Goofy was fast asleep, laid back as if he were in a hammock. Donald was muttering something about attention. I floated over to Sora.

"So, I think when we stop falling we should split up. You go with Donald, and— "

"Hey, I don't wanna go with him. They're our friends, and we should find them together," said Sora.

"But if we leave, they might leave without us," I argued.

"Well, they can't," he said, summoning his Keyblade. "Not without this."

"We both have one, there are probably a bunch more," I said.

"Who made you the boss, anyway?" said Sora.

"You're too ditzy to be— "

"Hey! At least I can fight!" he said.

"So can I!" I said, my Keyblade appearing in my hand.

"The raft was my idea!" said Sora.

"Yeah, fat lot of good it did us!" I said. "We're all lost and separated because you went back for your precious raft!"

"Well, you went to the island first! Why were you there?" Sora asked.

"I was checking on that door and the creepy guy!" I said.

"Yeah, and he got away with Shadi and Shui!" Sora said. "Some friend you are!"

"Oh, and what about Kairi?" I asked. "Because she's so much better off than the twins!" At that moment, we landed on our butts on the floor. Donald landed on his feet, and Goofy lnded on his face with a thump.

"Break it up!" quacked Donald. "We're on a mission!"

Sora and I both opened our mouths to argue when we heard the quick pattering of feet. A white rabbit in a waistcoat carrying a large clock dashed past us.

"Oh, my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" he said, panting heavily. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there." He scurried away.

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The queen, she'll have my head for sure!" we heard faintly.

"Let's follow it," I suggested. I glanced at Sora, but he didn't argue, and we walked down the hall. We soon reached a door, which revealed several smaller doors underneath. After the third, I sighed in exasperation. Seeing the smug look on Sora's face, I kept opening doors until the last one opened into a room.

We entered a really bizarre room, which wouldn't be so bizarre if not for many of the décor items being painted on the wall, as well as the mismatched wallpaper and the random faucets and things sticking out of the wall. We saw the White Rabbit scurrying across the tiled floor.

"Heeeyyyyy," I said. "How'd he get so smaaaalllll?"

As we watched the rabbit run through a small wooden door, the ticking sounds of a multitude of clocks lining the walls fills our ears. The door had a large doorknob, and it was on the edge of the room opposite us. Sora walked over to the door and kneeled down in front of it and Donald, Goofy, and I followed him.

"How _did_ he get so small?" asked Sora, looking at the door.

"Perhaps you're simply too big," said the doorknob. Donald quacked and jumped up in the air.

"It talks!" he said.

"Good, so I'm not the only one freaking out," I said. Sora simply looked at the doorknob as it yawned.

"Must you be so loud? You woke me up," said the doorknob irritably.

"Good morning," Goofy replied cheerfully.

"Good night!" snapped the doorknob. "I need a bit more sleep." It yawned again, and Sora leaned in closer.

"Wait, what do we have to do to grow small?" he asked.

"Why don't you try the bottle...over there?" the doorknob suggested. We turned and saw a table that definitely wasn't there before. There was a chair next to the table, and two bottles on top of the table.

"Which one do we drink from?" I asked the doorknob, but he was asleep.

"I say we drink from the blue one," said Sora. "Unless you think I'm to ditzy to be right."

"Just drink the bottle," I said. "If you're wrong, then you're wrong." Sora glared at me for a moment, then picked up the blue bottle and took a tentative taste. Just as he put the bottle back onto the table, he began to shrink until he was just slightly smaller than the door.

"So you got it right this time," I said. "Big deal." I picked up the bottle and drank from it, and Donald and Goofy did the same. We shrunk down, and when we were all the same size we walked over to the door and both Sora and I moved to open it.

"I've got it," I said.

"No, I'll do it," said Sora.

"No, that's fine," I said.

"Come on!" yelled Sora.

"Ladies first!" I said, shoving him aside. I quickly twisted the knob.

"OW!" shouted the doorknob. "Be quiet, and stop twisting that."

"But we- " I began, but the doorknob was already snoring.

"Waaaakkkk!" Donald quacked, and I turned and saw Heartless appearing all around him and Goofy. There were Shadows, Soldiers, and two red flying Heartless. One of the red Heartless spun around, summoning a fireball at the tip of its hat. When it finished spinning, it launched the fireball at Sora. I quickly summoned my Keyblade and deflected it.

"You're welcome," I said. He grumbled for a moment, then he summoned his own Keyblade. We charged at the Heartless.

One of the red Heartless flew at me, but I slid underneath it and struck it with the Keyblade. I remembered what Leon said about speed, and I quickly swung at the Heartless a second time before it could recover.

As the Heartless burst into darkness, a Shadow's claws flew toward my face. I panicked and froze up, but before the attack connected, Sora knocked the Heartless aside.

"You're welcome," he said. I rolled my eyes and went back to the fight. I decided to test out my new spell, and shot a Fire spell at the nearest Soldier, and it caught on fire and began to run around and flail wildly.

When the last of the Heartless had been dealt with, we looked back at the door, and found it was still fast asleep.

"Well, what can we do?" said Goofy.

"I think I have an idea," I said.

"I have one too!" said Sora.

"Then why don't you share?" I asked. "It's bound to be good. Like the raft."

"Or going out on a boat in the middle of a storm!"

"Wak!" said Donald. "Look." He pointed beneath the giant bed in the corner, where we could just see a small opening. Now that we were small, it was the perfect size.

"Come and help us push," said Goofy.

"Push it where?" asked Sora. "It's in the corner."

"Pull it then," I said. The four of us lined up at the foot of the bed and grabbed it. When Donald counted to three, we all pulled, though the bed didn't budge.

"Yeah, pulling it worked," said Sora sarcastically.

"It should have. It must be nailed down or something," I said. I wiped my brow and leaned against the bed. Suddenly, the bad magically sank into the wall, and I fell on my butt.

"There we go," I said, standing up and dusting off my shorts. We walked through the door and into a garden with walls made of rose hedges; some of the roses were red, but some were white. Several living card soldiers stood guard.

A small blond girl in a blue pinafore dress was standing at a defendant's table. She looked up to the bench, where a large woman in a red and black dress and a crown sat. The White Rabbit ran up a podium and caught his breath before sounding a note with a trumpet.

"Court is now in session!" said the rabbit.

"I'm on trial? But why?" said the blonde girl

"Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!" said the White Rabbit, ignoring the girl like everyone else had.

I assumed that the Queen of Hearts was the woman in the crown. She was holding a heart-shaped fan, and her face was slightly red.

"This girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it. And the reason is...because, I say so, that's why!" she said.

"That is so unfair!" said the girl. The Queen banged her fan down like a gavel.

"Well, have you anything to say in your defense?" asked the Queen of Hearts.

"Of course! I've done absolutely nothing wrong!" said Alice, folding her arms. The White Rabbit gasped. "You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so...so mean!" The Queen scowled.

"Silence! You dare defy me?" the Queen yelled, slamming down her fist this time instead of the fan.

"Hey, guys, we should help her out," asked Sora.

"Yeah, but the- " began Donald.

"We're outsiders, so wouldn't that be muddling?" asked Goofy.

"'Meddling'!" Donald corrected.

"Oh, yeah. A-hyuck! And that's against the rules," said Goofy.

"Yeah, Sora. We don't want to shatter their fragile perception of reality!" I said. "Another bad idea for you."

"Stop- "

"Silence back there!" said the Queen of Hearts. "Now. The court finds the defendant," she said, raising her fan, "guilty as charged! For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart..." Everyone in the garden seemed to gasp.

"Off with her head!"

She pointed to the girl and the Card Soldiers gathered around her.

"No! No! Oh, please!" said Alice.

"Oh, screw fragile perceptions of reality," I said. The four of us ran into the main garden.

"Hold it right there!" said Sora before I could speak. I glowered at him.

"Who are you? How dare you interfere with my court?" asked the Queen.

"Excuse me. But we know who the real culprit is!" I said. It was Sora's turn to glower.

"Uh-huh. It's the Heartle- " All four of us covered his mouth.

"Anyway, she's not the one you're looking for," Sora said. The Queen didn't look very impressed with our assertion.

"That's nonsense. Have you any proof?" she asked. She smirked at us and nodded to her cards. They seized Alice and threw her into a large birdcage.

"Bring me evidence of Alice's innocence! Fail, and it's off with all of your heads! Gather as much or little evidence as you please. Report back here once you're ready," said the Queen.

"Um, excuse me, Your Highness, may we at least speak to her first?" I asked.

"Very well. Make haste," said the Queen. We ran over to the cage as two card soldiers edged closer to it.

"Who are you?" asked the girl.

"I'm Sora," Sora said.

"I'm Feng," I said, pushing against Sora.

"I'm Goofy, and that there's Donald," said Goofy.

"I'm Alice. Pleased to meet you, though I do wish it were under better circumstances. I'm sorry you got mixed up in this nonsense," said Alice.

"Why are you on trial in the first place?" Sora and I asked at the same time.

"I should like to know the very same thing! Apparently I was guilty from the moment I took the stand!" she said.

"That's crazy! So, where are you from?" asked Sora.

"Hmm, curious. I can't quite remember. You see, I found this mysterious rabbit hole. When I tried to peek inside, I tumbled in head over heels... And I found myself here," said Alice forlornly.

"So you're from another world!" I asserted.

"That's funny. Maybe you don't need a ship, then," said Goofy.

"I don't get it," said Donald.

"What do you mean 'another world'?" Alice asked.

"Enough! The defendant will be silent!" said the cards, pushing us away from the cage. They wordlessly pointing us to an entryway. We walked through it, and soon we ended up in a forest.

"Okay, so I think that gathering evidence would be easier if- " I began.

"We should split up," said Sora.

"No, be quiet. I was gonna say that!" I said.

"Bickering and snickering is not good for these pursuits," said a soft voice. We looked around and saw the head of a purple cat pop up out of nowhere, smiling like a maniac. The head floated around for a moment before coming to rest just above a log, where the cat's body appeared. The body reached up and grabbed the head, reattaching it.

"Who are you?" asked Donald loudly.

"Who, indeed? Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head, and she's not guilty of a thing!" said the cat.

"Hey, if you know who the culprit is, tell us!"

"The Cheshire Cat has all the answers—but doesn't always tell. The answer, the culprit, the cat all lie in darkness," said the cat.

"Okay, then can we get you to tell somehow?" I asked.

"Hints for the bickerers and the snickerers. They've already left the forest. I won't tell which exit. There are four pieces of evidence in all. Three are a cinch to find. The fourth is tricky. Big reward if you find them all," said the cat, beginning to fade.

"Should we trust him?" asked Donald. The cat came back into focus.

"To trust, or not to trust? I trust you'll decide!" said the cat, completely vanishing.

"What should we do?" asked Goofy.

"Well, we should obviously trust him," said Sora.

"I don't know. A self-decapitating cat might not be the best person, err, animal, to put your trust in." I said.

"Come on, he didn't even really tell us anything aside from how much evidence there is," retorted Sora.

As much as I didn't want to agree with Sora, he was right. "Fine, we'll look for the evidence." The four of us set out into the forest to find the evidence.

 **KHR**

I'll spare you the details, but we basically found antenna, footprints, claw marks, and stink. When we re-entered the Lotus Forest, we were greeted by the cat.

"Well, look what you've found. Nice going," said the cat. "And the bickerers?"

"Still bickerering," said Goofy.

"That doesn't matter now. We can save Alice," said Sora, and I was once again forced to agree.

"Don't be so sure! She may be innocent, but what about you?" asked the cat.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"I won't tell. But I'll give you something," said the cat, grinning unnervingly. Two blue orbs appeared in the air, then floated down into me and Sora's hands. As the orb began to glow, I shivered as if a chill ran down my spine. The orbs vanished from our hands.

"I'm guessing we just got an ice spell," said Sora.

"Gee, what tipped you off?" I asked. He glared at me and I returned the glare.

"Come on!" said Donald. "We've already meddled, we might as well finish what we started."

When we reentered the garden, a card soldier came up to us.

"Are you ready to present evidence before the queen?" he asked.

"Yes," Sora and I both said.

"Very well. Counsel, step up to the podium," the card said. Sora and I fought our way up to the podium.

"Now, show me what you have found," demanded the Queen. Sora and I held up our evidence, which came in neat little gift boxes.

"Well, that's certainly a lot of evidence, but I'm still not impressed. Cards! Bring forth my evidence!" shouted the Queen. The cards added another identical box to our four and the cards shuffled the boxes so fast we couldn't even tell which was which.

"Hmm, checking all five would only be a waste of time. All right, then. Choose the one you wish to present. I'll decide who's guilty based on that evidence," said the Queen.

"What? After all the trouble of collecting it?" asked Sora.

"Yeah, that's totally ridiculous!" I added.

"You dare object?" the Queen shouted. "Then you will lose your heads! Now, choose! One box!"

Sora and I each left the podium and picked a box.

"One box!" the Queen reiterated.

"We need to pick this one, Sora," I said. "It's light enough to be the stench."

"No, this one's definitely the one," said Sora, shaking the box. "It's the antenna."

"No, this one!" I said.

"This one."

"This one!"

"This one!"

"THIS ONE!" we both shouted.

"CHOOSE!" bellowed the Queen of Hearts.

"Let's just do it for Alice," I said. "Let's both pick one." Sora and I both walked over to one box and picked it up.

"Are you certain? No second chances!" asked the Queen.

"I'm sure," Sora and I said in unison.

"Now we shall see who the real culprit is," said the Queen. The cards came forward and opened the box. Out popped a picture of the Queen of Hearts with speech bubble that read "I'm stupid".

"THAT IS IT!" the Queen exploded. "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"

"No, that isn't fair!" I said.

"Article 29: Anyone who defies the queen is guilty!" the Queen read from a parchment.

"That's crazy!" Donald shouted.

"Seize them at once!" the Queen shouted.

The podiums and hedges disappeared as a large tower rose from the ground. The Ten of Spades rans over to the tower's gear and turned it, raising Alice's cage. The queen lifted her fan, and the cards leapt into battle.

"Cards! If they touch the tower, you lose your heads!" said the Queen. The cards rushed at us, but we batted them aside as if they were, well, cards.

"Get them, you fools! Quit joking around!" said the Queen. As she shouted, she waved her fan, and magic flew from it. As Sora blocked the spells, I flung my Keyblade at the Queen. The fan flew from her hand and she keeled over, showing her heart-covered bloomers. The cards stopped charging and began to shiver out of fear. We all took the opportunity to attack the tower until the cage was lowered back to the ground.

"Why, you!" shouted the Queen. We all ran over to the cage, and Sora pulled back the curtains to reveal that Alice was gone.

"She must've gotten kidnapped while we were fighting," deduced Donald.

"You fools!" said the Queen of Hearts, slamming her fist down. The cards stood at attention. "Find the one who's behind this! I don't care how!"

As the cards began running around wildly, we ran into the forest in search of Alice. When we entered, the cat appeared once again.

"Have you seen Alice?" asked Sora.

"Alice, no. Shadows, yes!" said the cat.

"Shadows? Then where did they go?" I asked.

"This way? That way? Does it matter? Left, right, up, down! All mixed up thanks to the shadows! Step deeper into the forest to the deserted garden. You might find shadows in the upside-down room!" said the cat. He vanished, and we all turned to each other.

"This is your fault!" said Sora. "If you would have just let me present my evidence, then we wouldn't be here!"

"My fault? The Queen was obviously crazy! She probably would have betrayed us anyway!" I said.

"Stop fighting!" said Donald. "If you keep fighting, we're gonna leave you here!"

"Oh, please!" I said. "You need this!" I summoned my Keyblade, waving it around. "You need the key to help your king."

"Yeah, but it isn't worth this fighting. If we need, we'll only take one of you," said Donald.

"Fine, but I'm not talking to her until she apologizes for calling me ditzy," Sora said.

"And I'm not talking to him until he apologizes for calling me a bad friend," I replied.

"Aw, can't we all be friends?" asked Goofy, pulling us into a hug.

"No!" Sora and I said. We both pulled away from him.

"Well, let's go find the upside-down room," said Donald. "Any ideas?"

"Yeah. The room with the doorknob," I said. "When we went in it was upside down."

"Then let's go," said Goofy, and we began to head back to the room.

 **KHR**

We made it back to the room, and the cat reappeared.

"They're hiding somewhere. And the momeraths outgrabe. Want to find the shadows? Try turning on the light," he said before vanishing again. We noticed that there were two lamps on the wall. Sora and I each used Fire on one without speaking.

"It's too dim. Make it brighter," said the cat. "One more lamp that you need to light." We looked up and saw the last lamp on the ceiling, hanging upside down. Before Sora and I could argue about who would light it, Donald shot the lamp, lighting it himself.

The cat reappeared on the table. "All the lights are on. You'll see the shadows soon. They might go after that doorknob, too," said the cat. "You'll have a better view from higher up." We all jumped up onto the table where the cat was.

"The shadows should be here soon," he said, grinning wider. "Are you prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!"

He pointed upward and an enormous Heartless began to fall from the roof. It landed on the floor with a thud. Its arms and legs were like paper, and it was holding two juggling batons. It had five heads stacked on top of each other, red and black in a pattern.

Sora got a running start, leaping off the table and striking at the Heartless, which I decided to call the Trickmaster. It slammed the batons down onto the chair, sending it flattened into the floor. I jumped up and dealt a series of quick blows to the Trickmaster's faces. It swatted me aside with a baton and I hit the giant brick stove nearby.

"Feng!" shouted Donald. He cast a Cure spell on me, and I instantly felt better. I jumped from the stove and ran over to the Trickmaster's legs. I threw my Keyblade, and it hit both legs, knocking the Heartless over.

"Gotcha!" I shouted. "Fire!" A ball of Fire shot from the tip of my Keyblade and toward the Trickmaster. At the last moment, however, the Trickmaster lifted the batons, and the fireball hit them, lighting them on fire.

"Wow, great job, Feng!" shouted Sora.

"At least I tried something!" I replied. Suddenly, the Trickmaster flung a ball of fire at me. Goffy jumped in front of me, blocking the fireball with his shield.

"Goofy," I said as the Trickmaster rose from the floor. "Can you throw your shield at its faces?"

"I can try," said Goofy. He lifted his arm, the flung the shield. It flew toward the Trickmaster like a discus, and it hit it square in the middle face. The Trickmaster slumped over, and I saw my chance.

"Donald, use Blizzard on the left baton! Now!" I said. As the duck used his spell, I used my own, and as the ice hit the batons, the went out.

"Ha, fixed it!" I said.

"Well, you also started it, so…," said Steven.

"Shut up and fight!" I said. We dove back into it, but we found that is wasn't so easy. We saw that the Trickmaster could light its own batons using the big brick stove. Each time we knocked it out and put them out, we got more exhausted.

"We need to finish it off," said Donald.

"I've got it!" I said. "But I need Sora's help."

Sora was panting. "Why, I thought you were good on your own?"

"No!" I said. "That's just it. I think this has been so hard because we haven't been working with each other, but against each other. We need to work together if this is going to be an effective team," I said, thinking of what the cat said. "Bickering won't work. We have to been one if we're going to get anything done."

"Okay," said Sora. "What do you need?"

"Gimme a boost. I need to get up onto the table," I said.

"Got it." Sora locked his fingers together and got onto one knee. I got a running start, and when I stepped into Sora's hands, he flung me up onto the table.

"Keep it away!" I shouted. As the others continued fighting the Trickmaster, I went over to the red bottle and tipped it over. I was just able to get a small handful, but I drank it all. I felt myself grow bigger until I was back to normal size.

I was now a good bit taller than the Trickmaster. I summoned my Keyblade and swatted at it once, and it keeled over, releasing a rather large heart. I turned around and drank from the blue bottle, shrinking back down.

The doorknob woke up with a loud yawn. "What a racket. How's a doorknob to get any sleep?" It yawned again, and, as it did, the keyhole that was its mouth began to shine in the shape of a regular keyhole.

"What's it doing?" asked Donald.

"I'm not sure, but I think we should use the Keyblade," I said. I summoned mine and pointed it at the keyhole. It released a beam of light, and we heard a clicking noise like a tumbler in a lock.

"What was that?" asked Goofy.

"You hear that? Sounded like something closed," said Sora. Suddenly, a small green object, similar in texture to the ship, fell from the doorknob's mouth.

"This gummi ain't like the others. No, sir," said Goofy.

"Okay, I'll hold on to it," said Donald, picking up the gummi. The cat reappeared on the table.

"Splendid. You solved the riddles, and now you're quite the heroes. If you're looking for Alice, she's not here. She's gone! Off with the shadows, into darkness," said the cat. He vanished, with his grin lingering for just a moment.

"No...," said Sora, discouraged.

"We'll find her if we work together," I said. I held out my hand to Sora. He nodded, then shook my hand.

"Let's get goin'," Goofy said. He began walking toward the table, and the three of us followed, ready for the next adventure.


	4. Olympus Coliseum

**Author's Note: Okay, so this chapter is somewhat similar to the original story, but a lot of the flow and such has been changed severely. I hope you all enjoy it**

"Feng…," a voice said.

"Dad?" I asked. I could vaguely see a face through the light, though I couldn't make out the features.

"Feng… my Feng…"

I jolted awake. It was the same dream I'd had again and again. My father, smiling down at me. I could never see his face, but he said my name and I knew it was him.

I grew up living on the island alone. All I remember was being woken up one day by a silver-haired boy. Riku took me back to his house, where his mother patched me up. She offered to let me stay with them, but I turned them down. I went from house to house, but I knew I wouldn't find my parents. So I moved in with an older woman who lived on the main island. She died when I was 10, and since then I lived alone in the house.

I always hoped that one day I'd finally be able to see my father's face in my dream, but it never happened.

Now that I was awake, I was feeling hungry. I went into the kitchen, grabbed a pork bun package, and popped it in the microwave. As I sat at the table, Sora walked into the kitchen… in his boxers.

"Crown print?" I questioned.

"Oh, yeah. I didn't think anyone else was in here," he said. He went over to the fridge and started looking around as the microwave beeped. I got up to get the buns as Sora pulled a burger out of the fridge. He popped it in the microwave as I sat down.

"So," I said. "Do you think we're going to find our friends?"

"I don't know," he told me. "But I hope so."

"Sora, do you remember when we went to the cave?" I asked. "When I asked you if Riku liked Kairi?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you know why I asked?"

"Because you like him, right?" he said.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked, biting a bun.

"Umm, yeah," he said. "But I think he likes you too."

"You do?!" I blurted. "Why?"

"Well, there's that paopu he gave you." I actually still had the paopu with me.

"Why is it so hard? This whole thing?" I asked.

"I don't know. I think that we're all too nervous of being let down. If I told Kairi that I liked her, what if she didn't feel the same. What if it made things weird?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I said. The microwave beeped, and Sora retrieved his burger. "Do you remember anything or anyone weird on the islands? Right around the time I showed up?"

"All I remember was this guy that Riku talked to. He never told me who the guy was or anything though."

"I just wish I knew something about where I came from," I said. "I have this dream of my father, but I can never make out his face, just his voice."

"Maybe we'll find out where you're from on this journey," said Sora reassuringly. "And I'm sorry that I called you a bad friend before."

"I'm sorry I called you ditzy," I told him. "The raft could have worked."

"I don't think so. Not forever, especially since you can't even go to other worlds without a ship," Sora said.

"Well, it doesn't matter now," I said, polishing off my pork buns. "We got what we wanted, and it backfired, big time. I just want to find our friends and go home."

"I couldn't agree more," said Sora through a mouthful of burger. Just then, Donald came out from the cockpit.

"I found a new world," he said. "It looks like a coliseum."

"Okay," I said, standing up. "Let's do this. Sora, you might want to put your pants on."

 **KHR**

We entered the world through a golden gate. Inside, there was a courtyard where two giant golden statues of gladiators clashed swords above another, smaller door. We walked through those doors and into a dim lobby, where a satyr was putting up a sign on the wall near an entrance. A "closed" sign was tied in front of a dark doorway and a large stone block was placed against a wall near a lit torch. We approached the satyr cautiously.

"Um...," mumbled Sora, unsure of what to do.

"Good timing. Give me a hand, will ya? Move that pedestal over there for me," said the satyr, pointing to the stone block without turning away from the sign. "I gotta spruce this place up for the games." The four of us all walked over to the block and took turns pushing against it, though it didn't budge an inch for any of us.

"It weighs a ton!" said Sora.

"It's way too heavy!" I said to the satyr's back.

"What? Too heavy? Since when have you been such a little- " began the satyr. He turned and looked up as if he were expecting someone taller, but then he looked down at us.

"Oh. Wrong guy. What're you doing here?" he asked us. He walked over to Donald, who began to back away slowly.

"This here's the world-famous Coliseum—heroes only! And I got my hands full preparing for the games. So run along, pip-squeaks." Sora began to pout and put his hands on his hips, but I scowled, crossing my arms.

"Look, it's like this," said the satyr, beginning to pace around. "Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the Coliseum. And me, I trained the best of 'em. I'm Philoctetes, but you can call me Phil."

"Well, you've got heroes standing right in front of you," said Donald, crossing his arms.

"Yup. They're real heroes chosen by the Keyblade!" said Goofy, putting his hands on our shoulders.

"And we're heroes, too," said Donald, pointing to himself.

"Hero? That runt?" said Phil, looking shocked, and not in a good way. He laughed loudly, slapping his belly.

"What's so funny? I've fought a bunch of monsters!" said Sora, pounding his chest.

"Yeah, we all have, fur butt!" I said indignantly.

"Hey, if you can't even move this...," Phil said, moving over to the block. He pushed against it, but it didn't budge. "You can't call yourself...," he continued, pushing against the block with his back as his hooves slipped across the floor. "A hero!" Sora crossed his arms and I put my hands on my hips as phil finally wore himself out, plopping down on the ground and trying to catch his breath.

"Okay, so it takes more than brawn," he said, standing up. "Well, let's see what you can do. This trial is tough. You got what it takes? You ready?"

"I'm ready!" said Sora.

"Hold on!" I said. "This is stupid. I shouldn't have to prove myself in a stupid trial. What are you gonna make us do, break stupid urns or something?"

"Who are you to question my training methods?" asked Phil. "I've trained some of the greatest heroes out there. Perseus, Theseus, Odysseus, a lotta 'euses' is what I'm getting at. Besides, they're barrels. Not urns. Anymore."

"Okay, but how does this test our actual combat skills?" I asked.

"Like I said, there's more to it then brute strength," said Phil.

"Yeah. I'm not physically strong, I know that. But I'm fast. And I've gotten much better. I want a real test," I said.

"Fine, you want a 'real test'? Fight him," said Phil, pointing to Sora.

"Fight Sora?" I asked. "What gave you that idea?"

"I can see you both in action. Snip two threads with one pair of shears," Phil said. "Show me what ya both got."

"I'm game," Sora said.

"Fine, me too. Bring it on," I replied. We entered the main part of the coliseum, which was basically a dirt square with stands on two sides. Sora and I stood across from each other, and Phil, Donald, and Goofy took a seat in the stands.

"Ready? Go!" said Phil.

I was too fast for Sora; I rushed up and struck him before he could react. He quickly recovered from my attack and charged me, using his Keyblade to fling himself toward me and strike. I blocked that, but he pushed me off balance. He went to strike me while I was down, but I pulled a Riku and sprang up, kicking him in the chest. He was pushed back, and I slashed again with my Keyblade, but he was ready. As the blades collided, he tried to push me down again, but I pulled away. As I was recovering, he successfully bypassed my guard and struck me on the arm.

He tried another strike but I rolled to the side, casting a Fire spell. He blocked the fireball and sent it flying up toward the stands, where it set the tip of Phil's tail on fire.

"Three words: watch out!" said Phil. Goody began counting on his fingers with a puzzled expression.

Sora rushed at me once again, and he hit me, knocking me over. I rolled back up and kicked him in the face, sending him stumbling backwards. I took the opportunity to get behind him for a second strike, but he saw me coming, and did a spin attack that knocked me backwards.

"That's enough!" shouted Phil from the stands. "You're better than I thought!" The five of us returned to the lobby as Sora and I drank potions to recover.

"Good job," I told him.

"You too," he replied.

"You know, you ain't bad," Phil told us. Sora scratched his head and chuckled and I dusted off the front of my shorts.

"Looks like we're headed for the games," Sora said. He put his hands behind his head in a weird gesture and I locked my fingers together and stretched my hands above my head.

"Afraid not," said Phil.

"Why not?" said a now frowning Sora.

"Two words: You guys ain't heroes," said Phil.

Goofy began to count on his fingers as Sora and I began to protest.

"Wanna become real heroes? Start by mastering this spell," said Phil, tossing us a yellow orb. My hair stood on end as if a jolt of electricity passed through my body. The orb disappeared.

"I don't care about your stupid spell!" I said. "I want to enter the games. Our friends might have entered, and we need to find them."

"Sorry, but rules are rules," said Phil.

"You're a hack!" I said, storming out of the lobby and into the courtyard. I was surprised to find another person there.

It was a man with long silver hair, and long sword, and a single black wing on his back. He was wearing a black leather outfit. As I slammed the doors, he turned to look at me, and for a moment his blue green eyes and silver hair reminded me of Riku.

"Hello, young lady. Who are you?" he asked me.

"I'm Feng," I said. "And you are?"

"Feng, would you be interested in helping me with something?" asked the man, ignoring my question. "I could give you an entry pass for the games." He held up something that looked like a ticket.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"I'm looking for someone, and I believe that that someone is entering the games today. If you enter the games, you can find him for me, that's all I ask."

"You never told me your name," I said. The guy was starting to freak me out.

"I am Sephiroth," he said, holding out the pass to me. "What do you say?"

"Deal," I said, taking the pass. "Now, what does this guy look like?"

"Well," Sephiroth said. "He is blond, and he has blue eyes and a very large sword. His name is Cloud."

"Okay, and you think Cloud entered the games?"

"I'm almost certain."

"Then why not enter yourself?"

Sephiroth chuckled. "I don't want him to see me coming." That made me begin to regret making a deal with Sephiroth, but it was too late, so I just nodded and reentered the lobby. I held the pass out to Phil without saying a word.

"Hey, how'd you get this?" he asked me.

"Doesn't matter," I said. "Are you gonna let me in the games, or not?"

"Well... I guess so," said Phil. "We start with the preliminaries! Some real weirdos signed up for the games. Better watch yourself."

 **KHR**

Basically, the first few rounds were just me up against some Heartless. I made easy work of them, though I began to get winded after a while. I must have taken having other people fighting with me for granted, even if we weren't getting along.

After a few round, I emerged from the coliseum, panting and sweating.

"You're not a hero yet, but you ain't doing bad. Lucky you came to me for coaching," said Phil, stroking his goatee.

Suddenly, another person came in from his match. He had a red cape, a claw, spiky blond hair, blue eyes, and a gigantic sword. He was the one I was looking for. As I stared at him, he stared back before leaving the lobby.

"Something tells me he'll be a tough one to beat. Who knows, maybe you'll end up facing him," said Phil.

"I hope so," I said. I was more afraid of Sephiroth than I was of Cloud.

"Wow, didn't know you had a deathwish. These are some good games. I just wish he was here to see 'em," said Phil.

"Who?" I asked.

"Hercules. He's a hero if ever there was one. Too bad he's off visiting his father," said Phil. "The greatest hero I ever trained. He was worth the trouble, that kid. He went the distance."

"If he's so great, why did he need you to train him?" I asked.

"He had the strength, but he needed to get his heart in the right place. It ain't easy, doin' things on your own. You need people who round you out and make you better. That's something I learned from training Herc," said Phil.

"Hmm, I guess," I said, thinking about what Phil had said.

"Now, I got three words for ya: prepare yourself. You're almost to the semi-finals, kid. One more round."

I fought through one more round of Heartless, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something else was going on behind the scenes.

 **KHR**

Beneath the stands, two figures watched the young girl fight.

"And you're quite sure this plan will work?" asked Sephiroth.

"It's a sure thing, like Narcissus stopping to stare at himself in a puddle," said a mysterious man with black robes like smoke and flames for hair. "While Spiky and Spiky Jr. duke it out in their 'who has the stupidest sword' contest, you take out the little girlie. Then we handle whichever punk is left on the other side of things, bada-bing, everything's taken care of. Then you kill Hercules for me, we call it even, everyone goes home happier than Hermes."

"Aren't you the god of the dead? Why are you scared of some kids?"

"That's not important. You help me, I help you, the end," said Hades, growing impatient.

"But- "

"Stop questioning it!" said Hades, erupting into red flames. He quickly regained his cool. "Look, I can't interfere with the little tykes, or Blunder Boy will be onto me. That kid has been the hawk, eating the pancreas if my Prometheus day after day for years, and I'm sick of it. Just help me end him, and it's a win-win."

Sephiroth and Hades eyed the girl, who was panting like a dog in the sun.

"Hey, it's like that old goat says: Rule 11: It's all just a game, so let loose and have fun with it!" Hades said, punching the air. "I mean, a casualty along the way is no big deal, right?" Sephiroth walked away, his expression unchanging.

"Geez. Stiffer than the stiffs back home. But that makes two suckers for the price of one..."

Behind him, a large creature growled.

 **KHR**

"Okay," said Phil, mock-punching the air. "Here comes the semi-finals. You ready to do it?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," I said, finishing of my Potion. I went into the ring, where before me stood a man with long silver hair and a long sword.

"Sephiroth?" I asked, puzzled. "I thought you couldn't enter the games. I thought you didn't want Cloud to know you were coming?"

"Well, plans change," said Sephiroth. He charged at me, and kicked me so hard that I flew into the wall behind me. I jumped up quickly and used Thunder on him. He used his sword like a lightning rod and shot my spell back at me.

I ran forward, intending to strike with the Keyblade, but I stumbled before I could make it. I fell face-first into the dirt.

"You're weak. You'd never have been able to beat Cloud anyway," taunted Sephiroth. I pushed myself up, and threw my Keyblade at him. He jumped over it, and it bounced off of the stone wall behind him and clattered to the ground.

I felt the ground shake beneath my feet, and I saw the sky above us was dark. I held out my hand, and the Keyblade returned to it, though the only use for it now was a crutch.

I thought about what Phil said about himself and Hercules, and I realized in that moment how right he was. I hadn't improved nearly as much as I'd though. It was the fact that I had others to cover my weaknesses that made me so much better. I had abandoned my team, my friends, and that was why I was losing. I let myself put my heart in the wrong place, and now I needed my friends to put it back in the right place.

I felt a sudden surge of power from my chest, as if my heart had gone into overdrive. I lifted the Keyblade, and a feeling I had never felt before overtook me.

"Light!" I shouted, and brilliant orbs of light erupted from the tip of my Keyblade and flew towards Sephiroth. The first orb disarmed him, and the rest blasted him back against the wall. When the orbs faded, he lay unconscious on the ground.

I ran from the battlefield and back into the lobby.

 **KHR**

I drank a Potion as I walked through the door.

"Whew, that was close! That was Cerberus, the guardian of the Underworld. Herc should be able to handle him. But then again, maybe not... This doesn't look good. I hope Herc's okay. Wish I could go in!" said Phil.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Feng!" Sora, Donald and Goofy shouted, puling me into a group hug.

"The guardian of the underworld attacked during our match!" said Sora.

"This hero named Hercules is holding it back," said Donald.

"I know who's behind it, too," said Phil. "Two words: Hades."

Goofy began counting on his fingers once again as Sora and I summoned our Keyblades. We prepared to run into the coliseum.

"Kids, you're not entering the arena, are ya? This ain't just some match. This is for real!" warned Phil.

"I'm not afraid. You can decide if I'm hero material or not," said Sora.

"I'm with my friends again," I said. "I know that we can do it."

"Just be careful!" said Phil. We reentered the arena, where we saw Hercules, who had Cloud slung over his shoulders, holding back Cerberus by his teeth. The demon dog's six ears perked up, and the beast turned its attention to us, allowing Herc to bring Cloud to the safety of the lobby.

"Hey!" shouted Phil. "I got two words of advice for you: Attack!"

The beast charged us, snapping around with its three heads. Each time it got near one of us, we'd strike the heads to keep it back. When it was tired out, we wailed away at the heads.

It rose and roared, sending fireballs at us. Sora, Donald, and I countered each with a Blizzard spell while Goofy flung his shield at each of the three heads. When the onslaught of fire ended, Cerberus began stomping around and creating shockwaves. The four of us lost our balance and fell over, and I realized that we needed a plan to beat the dog.

"Sora, toss me your Keyblade!" I said. Sora tossed it to me, and I ran up to the creature. I jumped in the central mouth and jammed the Keyblades into its jaws so they'd stay open.

"Hey, uglies!" I shouted. "Bet you can't eat me before he does!" The middle head began to fight against the blades in an attempt to close its jaws on me, while the other two lunged for me, trying to get me first. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

At the last second, I flipped out of the mouth. As the Keyblades disappeared, the two heads rammed into each other and the middle jaws closed on the other two. The beast whimpered and growled, then fell unconscious.

"Good plan," said Sora.

"Thanks," I replied before I fainted.

 **KHR**

Later, after I had been revived, Hercules and Phil stood before the four of us in the lobby. Phil unrolled a piece of papyrus as Hercules stood beside him with his arms crossed.

"Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further- "

"Hey! What do you mean 'junior heroes'?" asked Donald.

"Yeah!" I added. "We defeated the guardian of the freaking underworld!"

"You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be true heroes," said Phil.

"So, what does it take?" asked Goofy.

"Well, that's just something you'll have to find out for yourselves. Just the way that I did," answered the smiling Hercules.

"We may not get it yet…," said Sora, bracing himself against the block.

"But we know…," Donald added, joining Sora.

"That we'll find out…," continued Goofy.

"Together," I finished. With the four of us braced together against the pedestal, we pushed. The block slowly began to move until it was out of the way. Beneath it was another shining keyhole.

"Your turn, Sora," I said. Sora summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the keyhole, sealing it.

"Yeah, yeah," said Phil. "Two words for ya: still not heroes." The four of us sighed and left the lobby, waving goodbye to our new friends.

 **KHR**

"I still can't believe those squirts actually beat Cerberus," said Phil, stroking his goatee.

"Just between us, I'd already worn Cerberus down by the time they jumped in," Hercules whispered to his trainer with a wink.

Phil nodded and chuckled. "My lips are sealed."

 **KHR**

As we walked toward the gates, we noticed Cloud sitting off to the side. We went over to him.

"Hey, are you all right?" Sora asked. Cloud looked up at us.

"Yeah."

"So why did you go along with him, anyway?" asked Sora.

"I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired," said Cloud.

"Well, someone was looking for you too," I told him. "And he's vanished."

Cloud stood up and looked at the sky. "I know. I'm like him. I fell into darkness, and I couldn't find the light."

"You'll find it. I'm searching, too," said Sora.

"We both are," I added.

"For your light?" Cloud asked us. We both nodded. "Don't lose sight of it." He began to walk away.

"How about a rematch sometime? Fair and square, no dark powers involved," said Sora.

"I never even got to fight you," I said. Cloud turned his head away from us and ran his hand through his hair.

"I think I'll pass."

 **KHR**

Hades stood alone at the gates that night.

In his hand he held an action figure of Hercules.

He's strong, he's kind, he's always there for you, and he's handsome to boot," listed Hades as the action figure flexed and winked. "He's perfect. Perfect. Perfectly infuriating! He makes me crazy!" Hades exploded again, melting the statue. He breathed for a moment, his flames returning to their cool blue color.

"Wait a minute," Hades said to himself. "What are you worried about? All the pieces are in place. Relax. Here's what you do. Let Hercules train the kids. Next time around, I'll take care of them all. And I know just the little doll to tie it all together." In his hand, smoke forms into a figure of a tall, slender girl with curly hair and a toga dress. He grabbed the smoke figure and squeezed it tightly as the horned witch and a blue-haired girl appeared behind him.

"Who invited you to the party? Stay out of this. This is my show," said Hades.

"As you wish. Fight to your heart's content," said the witch.

Hades smirked for a moment before he noted the witch's sarcasm and scowled as she disappeared.

 **KHR**

As the girl, the boy, the duck, and the dog talked and laughed at the gates, the were being observed by a boy with golden hair and eyes.

His expression of distaste intensified as the girl laughed.

"So the witch was right," he said to his silver-haired companion.

"She may have replaced you, but she won't replace me," the silver-haired boy responded. "I'll get her on our side, then the witch will be pleased as punch."

"You'd better not blow it. It's our one advantage," said the golden boy.

"You worry too much," said the other boy. "Everyone has a weakness; hers… is me."


End file.
